An overhead power line consists of electrical conductors suspended by insulators attached to towers or utility poles. Since most of the insulation is provided by air, overhead power lines are generally the lowest cost method of transmission for large quantities of electric energy. Commonly, overhead lines use bare aluminum conductors or aluminum conductors with a steel core. The conductors are supported and attached to the towers/wood pole structures via glass, ceramic, or polymer insulators. At the terminal ends of each line (generally at a substation or switching station), the conductors are commonly dead-ended and routed through disconnect switches and breakers so that the line can be de-energized for maintenance. In addition, in some instances, lines are tapped and routed to another substation or switching station. At these tap locations, the conductors are dead-ended and generally routed through disconnect switches so that the tapped line can be de-energized for maintenance.
Oftentimes, linemen need to perform maintenance on the transmission lines while the line remains energized. In particular applications, linemen may need to disconnect and re-attach hot jumpers to a disconnect switch located at a tap location or terminal end of a line. This can oftentimes be a difficult and tedious task to line up the jumper connector pad with the switch terminal connector or dead-end terminal connector pad, install the bolts, nuts, and washers, and tighten the connection. This can be a simple three minute job, if performed on the ground or on de-energized equipment. However, such work is frequently performed on energized equipment, in a bucket suspended well above the ground, using numerous, eight foot or longer, fiberglass hot-sticks. Factor in various wind and weather conditions making a single jumper connection that can take an hour or more to complete.
Throughout history, the prior art has endured attempts by workmen to make the task of assembling conductor attachment components with one another using fasteners easier, safer and faster. Typically, the need arises, as discussed above, where the orientation or locations of the conductor attachment components on a structure or tower create a difficult and tedious task for the workmen. For example, workmen frequently have to apply fastener components, such as washers and nuts, to various conductor attachment components. Commonly, it is difficult for a tool to reach the area on a structure where conductor attachment components need to be coupled together with fasteners. This may be due to a great distance separating the workmen from the structure, by the configuration of the structure, or obstacles positioned between the workmen and the structure. All too frequently, the workmen will “engineer” a solution using various adhesives, tape, magnets, or even chewing gum in order to adhere fastener components to a tool so that the fastener components do not become disengaged from the tool until they have been initially applied to the conductor attachment component on the structure. Unfortunately, such on the spot solutions are impractical and unreliable. When such attempts fail, fastener components typically fall from the tool being used. When fastener components fall, it may be into a location where the fastener components can only be retrieved through a great expenditure of additional time and energy. Accordingly, a fastener attachment system is needed that is reliable and simple to use when attaching fasteners and fastener components.
Many times, one or more conductor attachment components need to be secured together with a fastener, such as a threaded bolt, and opposing fastener component, such as a nut and washer. However, due to the location or orientation of the structure, it is difficult for the workmen to simply dispose the threaded bolt through an opening in the conductor attachment component and start the nut at the opposing end of the fastener. In such instances, prior art attempts to position threaded bolts and other fasteners that must be later secured include the use of tape, adhesives and the like. Such efforts have always met with mixed results at best. In particular, fasteners (bolts, nuts and washers) are frequently lost or, if retrievable, serve only to slow the workmen down. Moreover, such prior art attempts fail to provide any form of precision positioning of the fasteners before they are coupled with the structure. In particular, instances where multiple fasteners are required on a conductor attachment component, their distance with respect to one another may require a level of precision that simply cannot be attained through the use of tape, adhesives or other mechanical aids. Accordingly, what is needed is a jig assembly that can accurately position multiple fasteners simultaneously in a fixed orientation to a conductor attachment component so that a workman is free to engage separate tools for securing the fastener components.